One Piece is arguably one in all, if not the, hottest anime collection ever. Not solely does it have the excellence of being one of many longest ongoing fashionable shonen collection with 1,122 episodes and 1,130 manga chapters, it additionally extends its attain through its Netflix live-action present, which introduces the world of Eiichiro Oda’s odyssey to of us much less aware of anime.

Amid all of the One Piece fervor, discussions in regards to the deep adoration followers harbor for the collection usually grow to be overshadowed by speculative fan theories in regards to the nature of its titular treasure and frivolous debates over character energy rankings. Fortuitously, a brand new anime featurette, harking back to Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Again, strips away the surplus to remind long-standing followers of their preliminary love for the collection.

One Piece Fan Letter, which premiered on Crunchyroll October 20, is a featurette celebrating the collection’ twenty fifth anniversary. The episode, which loosely adapts One Piece: Novel: Straw Hat Tales, takes place proper after the collection’ time skip (between Marineford and Sabaody). Quite than middle on the Straw Hat Pirates’ long-awaited reunion, the particular pulls the lens again by following the attitude of on a regular basis residents and lowly Marines that adore them.

All through the 24-minute particular, we meet a Marine who admires Luffy’s stick-to-it-iveness, drunk troopers arguing that Zoro’s the strongest swordsman of all time, a macho Marine captain hiding an affinity for Chopper’s cuteness, and a sardonic bookstore clerk daydreaming about Brook’s soul-stirring music. By far, probably the most poignant narrative all through the particular follows a shut-in lady whose favourite straw hat is Nami.

Whereas her outward love for Nami is clear in how she’s copied Nami’s style sense, deciphered the Straw Hats’ meet-up spot like a lurker on a discussion board web page, and written the navigator a heartfelt letter, the actual purpose why she loves Nami speaks to the guts of One Piece followers. To her, Nami represents how even feeble of us with out satan fruit powers could make a distinction on this planet. Witnessing the diminutive lady wrestle all through the particular to ship her letter to Nami not solely tugs on the coronary heart strings, it additionally speaks to the mass enchantment for the collection.

💌 🍊 #ONEPIECE #ONEPIECEFANLETTER pic.twitter.com/wTv7zK42VI

— .☆Zoe☆. (@strwberryroll) October 21, 2024

Very like how Look Again served as a love letter to creatives about why they pursue artwork, One Piece Fan Letter is a stark reminder to followers about why they love the present. Talking from private expertise, One Piece captured my coronary heart in the course of the pandemic as a result of studying it felt like I used to be part of the crew’s ensemble. It’s additionally received a stellar socialist political narrative a couple of band of freedom fighters liberating oppressed individuals from overruling police states (i.e., the Marines), and that’s based mostly AF.

Not solely has One Piece Fan Letter skyrocketed into the second spot on anime database MyAnimeLists‘ highest-rated anime of all time with a ranking of 9.25, it has additionally surpassed the mainline present, which sits at 8.72. Upon the episode’s premiere, followers took to social media with testimonials glorifying the particular as a masterpiece and the inventive embodiment of their love for the Straw Hats. Listed below are a few of our favourite fan reactions from the particular:

and for this reason the strawhats that aren’t beasts at combating are so vital for the narrative pic.twitter.com/aEtoXy13Mu

— rion 🇻🇪 (@peronyawns) October 20, 2024

The most important factor that strikes me about Fan Letter is the way it encapsulates the soul of how One Piece impacts us ourselves. Small, insignificant people who find themselves capable of look as much as these bigger than life characters and have it change them for the higher. I like One Piece. pic.twitter.com/xEUFgzs0UQ

— PhenomSage (@PhenomSage) October 20, 2024

she could be very actual to me pic.twitter.com/mSaZDmyaRj

— franz ⚢ brook kisser (@favsoulking) October 20, 2024

One Piece Fan Letter not solely serves as an emotionally resonant reminder to followers about their love for the collection, it additionally serves as a precursor to the anime’s upcoming re-edit of its Fishman Island arc. The particular additionally comes at an opportune time as a result of each the anime and manga are on hiatus. Whereas the previous is on hiatus to enhance the animation high quality of the present’s Egghead Island arc, the latter is on break in preparation for Oda to offer a guiding hand to the Netflix present’s upcoming second season. There’s additionally Netflix and WIT Studio’s upcoming One Piece remake within the works. Briefly, it’s a superb time to be a One Piece fan.

One Piece season two, that includes a number of new forged additions together with Joe Manganiello and Lera Abova as Crocodile and Nico Robin, is presently in manufacturing at Netflix.

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